have come up with a brplan to deal wh the fiscal cliff. senate democrats out of a immediating with joe biden indicate there is a strong democratic support for the plan. it is not clear if we will see a vote in the senate tonight. the house remain as juniored until noon tomorrow. no matter what, the nation will go off the cliff in a few minutes, at mid might eastern, at least temporarily. nancy pelosi released a statement, just a short time ago, saying in part "when a final agreement is reached and passed by the senate, i will present it to the house democratic caucus." for republican reaction, let's bring in political analyst and former chair of the rnc, michael steele, happy almost new year. >> happy almost new year, milissa. did you ever think this is what we would be doing tonight? >> i did not. but in all fairness, we could have guessed it. what's your reaction? >> my reaction is, you know, typical washington, wait until the last minute. i'm wondering why we're doing this on new year's over, but a deal is a deal. in many respects, you